NL: Can you share a bio with us?
SA: My name is Sydnie, I’m a rising senior at Nyack High School and a page in the Children’s Room. I started working at the library about 2 years ago, and I initially applied simply because I love to read. In addition to reading, my other interests are baking, true crime, and pottery.

NL: What are you currently reading? Do you like it?
SA: I’m currently in the middle of two books: one is the Death of Vivek Oji and the other is How it Feels to Float. I’m really enjoying both books. They both discuss themes of mental illness and difficult family relationships.

NL: If you could have any author speak at Nyack Library, who would it be and why?
SA: Though she’s no longer alive, I would love to have Toni Morrison speak at the Nyack Library. For one, she was an amazing author and poet, whose works have been globally celebrated, and two, she was a Nyack local, and lived in the area for many years.

NL: Which character in a book do you most identify with?
SA: I feel that I can identify with Winston from 1984. I think that both of us feel somewhat stifled by our environments, and yearn for greater independence and control over our lives.

NL: What books are on your night stand?
SA: Two books on my nightstand are the Bluest Eye and the Fault in Our Stars.

NL: Are there any books that you feel are overrated?
SA: I honestly feel that most book series are very overrated (The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc.). They feel too drawn out, and it can be hard to keep many of the details straight when there are so many books.

NL: Do you have a literary “guilty pleasure”?
SA: A book that I’ve read and a movie I’ve watched several times is the Fault in Our Stars. While some people I know find the story cheesy, I really love the characters.

NL: Would you ever organize your books by color? Yea or Nay?
SA: Organizing books by color is definitely visually appealing, but probably not the most practical, especially if you have a big book collection. So I say nay.

NL: What do you plan to read next?
SA: Next, I plan to re-read 1984. I read it for the first time a few months ago for my English class, but was in a rush to finish it, so I couldn’t fully enjoy it. This time, I’m reading it for leisure, so I hope to absorb more of the book’s “lessons”.

NL: What’s the first book that you remember reading?
SA: The first book I remember being read was Goodnight Moon. It was my favorite bedtime story and I can remember being fascinated by the books color scheme and the simplicity of the story. By the time I was three I’d basically memorized the whole book.

NL: What’s your least favorite book?
SA: The book My Sister’s Keeper is my least favorite. The entire story was very frustrating, but the ending was especially unsatisfying. I’m used to most stories ending with a happy ending (which I know does not reflect reality), but this book’s ending was far from happy.